Alright folks. The Bravos stand at 4 – 1 this afternoon. Will you feel remarkably different tonight if the Braves win and show some offense (like yesterday) or lose looking helpless at the plate (like Friday)?

Steve, Curt, Ham, if this thing settles into more of a Wild Card race than a division race for the Bravos, do you think you guys will do a show that discusses teams like the Diamondbacks, Giants, Brewers, Cards, etc? I know it’s a long ways off, but just curious. We all know the Phillies up and down, but I barely know the potential WC teams. Do you all follow them much?

#159 – I hear what you’re saying Nate. But, one of the walks was intentional. The single that drove in the first run was knocked down by Venters and should have been an easy play to Gonzo to end the inning with no runs and he’s the best reliever in baseball. I’m not too wound up about it, fwiw.

BUT, Venters still created his own demise by WALKING the first batter… I am not disturbed so much when the releiver makes a good pitch and the batter has a good swing and manages to drop one in off a good pitch… that’s baseball.

I AM disturbed when a reliever comes in and WALKS the first batter he faces. Baseball statistics would show that you have less than a 50/50 chance of the batter reaching base on a good fastball “down-the-middle”. However, the batter reaches 100% of the time on a walk and the walked runner tends to score in a one run game more often than not (in my opinion, there is a psychological “let down” by the defense and pitcher after a lead-off walk… that feeling of “we gave them a gift and it is uphill from here” i.e. pressing to overcome, a little drop in confidence, etc.)